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VOLUME 52, ISSUE 50 MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1992 I TGNPOST It!- I " WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY OGDEN, UT Freestyle with a twist c7 BRIAN SCHlELETHf SIGNPOSl A SWIMMER'S VERSION OF THE BIATHALON this is not. Though a 20-meter swim is a heck of a lot easier if you don't have to do if wearing a wet army uniform and a load bearing belt carrying an M-16 rifle, but ROTC cadet private Trevis Tashro and other ROTC cadets at the Swenson Gym pool say they do it just for fun. v- t , Inadequate higher education funding spells tougher entrance standards at Utah schools By STEVE WUTHRICH and LORIN J. MAY Students under the age of 23 will be Judged according to a formula based on a of ACT scores and grade point averages. Staff writers of The Signpost Because more students are enrolling at Weber State than can be paid for, the school's open enrollment policy will likely be gone by the Fall of 1993, meaning those with lower marks in high school will have to find somewhere else to go to college. "The problem is the mismatch of funds the state has for education and the rising enrollment," said Robert Smith, WSU vice president of Academic Affairs. State universities and colleges taught 9,210 more students this year than the year before, but the legislature will only fund 5,661 of them, leaving 3,549 unfunded. Yet state officials do not want the State Board of Regents, which governs all state higher education institutions, to implement enrollment caps, or limit the number of people who can attend Utah colleges. "The word 'cap' is a bad word (in state government)," Smith explained. The state wants to offer higher education to anyone who desires it. The Regents are trying to cope by further implementing the "prepared access" philosophy at the state's four universities, said Regent Doug Peterson, a Weber State student. Students with lower performance in high school Utah State, University of Utah Higher standards for entering freshmen, including required high school courses for acceptance. Weber State, Southern Utah University Open enrollment policies dropped, least prepared applicants turned away. Snow College, Dixie College, College of Eastern Utah, Utah Valley Community College, Salt Lake Community College Increased numbers of applicants; all must be admitted Source: Utah State Board of Regents will have to attend one of the state's two-year colleges, where it costs less to educate each student, before they can be accepted at a state university. Students under the age of 23 will be judged on preparation according to a formula based on a combination of ACT scores and grade point averages. A high score guarantees automatic entrance, and a low score can mean automatic exclusion from certain universities. Utah State and University of Utah will require a higher score for automatic entrance, and will also require high school seniors to have taken required courses in English, history, math and foreign language. Applicants at Weber State and Southern Utah University will have a lower cut-off point than the other two schools and will not require specific courses. Two-year colleges will retain an open enrollment philosophy. A group of minority students is currently circulating a petition which claims raising admission standards would close opportunities to minority students. However, universities may receive a provision enabling five percent of incoming students to be admitted without obtaining a high enough score. Students who are strong in certain areas of education, yet not able to meet the score, would qualify. On Feb. 14, Regents had prepared to vote on a plan for how each school was to use the formula, but they decided to delay the vote for another month due to an even lower than expected funding increase from the legislature. The proposed application of the (See ENROLL page 3) Political avant garde is the mark of one Weber State sophomore p. 6 Thompson: low funding could have been worse LEGISLATURE'S BUDGET: University can't fund all its students, but Utah is doing better than some places By GREG WEBBER Staff writer of The Signpost Weber State President Paul Thompson said that the university could have fared better at the legislature's 45-day session, but many systems of education fared worse. Thompson met with WSU faculty and staff Thursday in the Allred Theater to discuss results of Utah's 1992 Legislative session.Weber received more funding this year than last, but 33 other states received less funding this year than they did last year. "In the context of depressing information around the nation, it looks a little better than it might," Thompson said. One of the challenges which faces WSU in the near future is funding for growth in student enrollment. The Legislature appropriated $935,000 in enrollment growth funds, enough for 367 students or only about 25 percent of new students. Thompson said he is confident WSU will be limiting enrollment in the next few years. Thompson said the state's compensation package was set at about four percent, which means WSU salaries will probably be about three percent higher than last year's salaries. Last year, the compensation package was set at 1.35 percent. WSU is looking at many other options to increase or supplement WSU salaries, Thompson said. He said an endowed scholarship program can be used to supplement faculty and staff salaries. In addition, residual funds not spent in the area of health care at WSU possibly can be used to supplement salaries. However, WSU's medical and dental costs are currently among the highest in the system, Thompson said. He said the administration is presently analyzing why these costs are so high and that the results of their study would be out soon. "If we are careful with these costs, we can have more money for salaries," Thompson said. Thompson said WSU has saved money over the last few years by using less fuel and power to operate the school. As a result, the money not spent on fuel and power can be reallocated to other areas, possibly to salaries, Thompson said. Thompson said WSU received a onetime supplemental funding of $1 million to provide needed funds for miscellaneous projects on campus. Additionally, the State Bonding Bill was passed which will enable the second phaseof the Student Services Building to go forward, Thompson said. He said that this bill would also provide funds for the library renovation. WEATHER Mostly cloudy with scattered showers Monday. Partly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday. Highs mostly 40s and 50s. Lows in the 20s and 30s. Windy Wednesday. INSIDE NEWS: Financial aid office trys to cope with skeleton staff, p. 2 SPORTS: Revenge is sweet as sick EWU Eagles suffer 42-point loss to an extra-sharp Wildcat offense, p. 9

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VOLUME 52, ISSUE 50 MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1992 I TGNPOST It!- I " WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY OGDEN, UT Freestyle with a twist c7 BRIAN SCHlELETHf SIGNPOSl A SWIMMER'S VERSION OF THE BIATHALON this is not. Though a 20-meter swim is a heck of a lot easier if you don't have to do if wearing a wet army uniform and a load bearing belt carrying an M-16 rifle, but ROTC cadet private Trevis Tashro and other ROTC cadets at the Swenson Gym pool say they do it just for fun. v- t , Inadequate higher education funding spells tougher entrance standards at Utah schools By STEVE WUTHRICH and LORIN J. MAY Students under the age of 23 will be Judged according to a formula based on a of ACT scores and grade point averages. Staff writers of The Signpost Because more students are enrolling at Weber State than can be paid for, the school's open enrollment policy will likely be gone by the Fall of 1993, meaning those with lower marks in high school will have to find somewhere else to go to college. "The problem is the mismatch of funds the state has for education and the rising enrollment," said Robert Smith, WSU vice president of Academic Affairs. State universities and colleges taught 9,210 more students this year than the year before, but the legislature will only fund 5,661 of them, leaving 3,549 unfunded. Yet state officials do not want the State Board of Regents, which governs all state higher education institutions, to implement enrollment caps, or limit the number of people who can attend Utah colleges. "The word 'cap' is a bad word (in state government)," Smith explained. The state wants to offer higher education to anyone who desires it. The Regents are trying to cope by further implementing the "prepared access" philosophy at the state's four universities, said Regent Doug Peterson, a Weber State student. Students with lower performance in high school Utah State, University of Utah Higher standards for entering freshmen, including required high school courses for acceptance. Weber State, Southern Utah University Open enrollment policies dropped, least prepared applicants turned away. Snow College, Dixie College, College of Eastern Utah, Utah Valley Community College, Salt Lake Community College Increased numbers of applicants; all must be admitted Source: Utah State Board of Regents will have to attend one of the state's two-year colleges, where it costs less to educate each student, before they can be accepted at a state university. Students under the age of 23 will be judged on preparation according to a formula based on a combination of ACT scores and grade point averages. A high score guarantees automatic entrance, and a low score can mean automatic exclusion from certain universities. Utah State and University of Utah will require a higher score for automatic entrance, and will also require high school seniors to have taken required courses in English, history, math and foreign language. Applicants at Weber State and Southern Utah University will have a lower cut-off point than the other two schools and will not require specific courses. Two-year colleges will retain an open enrollment philosophy. A group of minority students is currently circulating a petition which claims raising admission standards would close opportunities to minority students. However, universities may receive a provision enabling five percent of incoming students to be admitted without obtaining a high enough score. Students who are strong in certain areas of education, yet not able to meet the score, would qualify. On Feb. 14, Regents had prepared to vote on a plan for how each school was to use the formula, but they decided to delay the vote for another month due to an even lower than expected funding increase from the legislature. The proposed application of the (See ENROLL page 3) Political avant garde is the mark of one Weber State sophomore p. 6 Thompson: low funding could have been worse LEGISLATURE'S BUDGET: University can't fund all its students, but Utah is doing better than some places By GREG WEBBER Staff writer of The Signpost Weber State President Paul Thompson said that the university could have fared better at the legislature's 45-day session, but many systems of education fared worse. Thompson met with WSU faculty and staff Thursday in the Allred Theater to discuss results of Utah's 1992 Legislative session.Weber received more funding this year than last, but 33 other states received less funding this year than they did last year. "In the context of depressing information around the nation, it looks a little better than it might," Thompson said. One of the challenges which faces WSU in the near future is funding for growth in student enrollment. The Legislature appropriated $935,000 in enrollment growth funds, enough for 367 students or only about 25 percent of new students. Thompson said he is confident WSU will be limiting enrollment in the next few years. Thompson said the state's compensation package was set at about four percent, which means WSU salaries will probably be about three percent higher than last year's salaries. Last year, the compensation package was set at 1.35 percent. WSU is looking at many other options to increase or supplement WSU salaries, Thompson said. He said an endowed scholarship program can be used to supplement faculty and staff salaries. In addition, residual funds not spent in the area of health care at WSU possibly can be used to supplement salaries. However, WSU's medical and dental costs are currently among the highest in the system, Thompson said. He said the administration is presently analyzing why these costs are so high and that the results of their study would be out soon. "If we are careful with these costs, we can have more money for salaries," Thompson said. Thompson said WSU has saved money over the last few years by using less fuel and power to operate the school. As a result, the money not spent on fuel and power can be reallocated to other areas, possibly to salaries, Thompson said. Thompson said WSU received a onetime supplemental funding of $1 million to provide needed funds for miscellaneous projects on campus. Additionally, the State Bonding Bill was passed which will enable the second phaseof the Student Services Building to go forward, Thompson said. He said that this bill would also provide funds for the library renovation. WEATHER Mostly cloudy with scattered showers Monday. Partly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday. Highs mostly 40s and 50s. Lows in the 20s and 30s. Windy Wednesday. INSIDE NEWS: Financial aid office trys to cope with skeleton staff, p. 2 SPORTS: Revenge is sweet as sick EWU Eagles suffer 42-point loss to an extra-sharp Wildcat offense, p. 9